Renew Atlanta hosted a business stakeholder open house to discuss the Marietta Street Resurfacing project at. Councilmembers Cleta Winslow and Ivory Lee Young attended the open house, where over 30 businesses were represented. There was no formal presentation or question and answer session. All displays can be found below: City of Atlanta Connect Atlanta Plan Cycle Atlanta 1.0 Study Network Map City of Atlanta Freight Routes Map Marietta Street Resurfacing Project Roll Plot This is a large file and will take a few moments to completely download. A formal public meeting will be held for this project on Tuesday, August 29 at Mount Ephraim Baptist Church. Please call (404) 865-8668 or email renewatlanta@atlantaga.gov for any questions regarding this project. Major Concerns/Comments Comment cards and emails were received and compiled. Based on the drawings, below is feedback that was asked to be considered by a stakeholder: Please make sure that ADA ramps have tapered edges and not channels with 90 degree edges as this creates a significant tripping hazard and limits mobility of people in wheelchairs Near our employee exit where we have 2000 cars exiting daily, please make a left turn refuge from the campus to southbound Marietta. Currently your drawing shows a striped off yellow zone, I am looking for a refuge to allow southbound vehicles an opportunity to cross northbound traffic and gently merge with southbound traffic There are many driveways crossing the bike lanes especially between North and Northside. Please make sure that there is some striping design to call attention to the bike lane for drivers exiting and entering the driveways Eliminate left turns during peak periods (4-7p M-F and possibly morning if needed) at Northside and Marietta both directions. A variable lighted no left turn symbol sign on the mast arm would be ideal and would allow traffic managers to turn it on during events or special circumstances. This would dramatically improve traffic flow and improve safety. North Avenue would be the option for northbound traffic; 10 th would be the option for southbound traffic Going forward, I d very much like us to consider right of way purchase at Marietta / Ivan Allen and Marietta / Northside in an effort to improve mobility for Atlantans
In an effort to minimize disruption, it was ask that the City grant an exception to the nowork during holiday season as this is a time of year when there are no students and very few employees. Perhaps we could hold off to after Christmas on the northern end and far southern end of the project as there are retail establishments but from Ivan Allen to Northside there are low-traffic opportunities. Other Comments received: On the map it seems to not have a street light coming out of Brickworks street level at 1000 Marietta Street Love the project and street parking on Marietta Street Concern with building access at hotels and private garages Have you considered how the many 5K Runs will be affected Only concern is traffic I m a bike commuter and manage Peachtree Bikes Westside. As a cyclist and occasional driver, I am for both left turn lanes and bike paths. Continue maintenance on bike paths Convert one-ways: COPD (confusing) Lattimer and Simpson (BW Luckie and Marietta) Bike lane on Marietta between Baker and Simpson is redundant. Width on Luckie Street which is a much safer option Safer loading for businesses Maintenance required to keep debris and sand off of bike lands (while the 17 th street bike lane is protected by bus lane, it s always sandy). Center protected bike lanes with cones Generally in favor of the project where it does not unduly impact longstanding businesses and where redundancy issues are addressed. I would support the bike lane ending at Ivan Allen rather than continuing down Marietta Street. Luckie Street bike path makes this redundant. We should not be removing traffic lanes to replace with cycle lanes. Marietta Street is highly travelled at rush hour times, backing up for considerable distance. Northside Drive as an example, using a hard left turn with through traffic is absurd. That lane barely moves now. Concerned about increase and accommodation for cyclists without significant reduction or attention to significantly improving traffic movement or reducing congestion Northside/Marietta intersection needs study to make sure GDOT plans are coordinated. Also should update plans to reflect Tech Parkway and confirm traffic counts will be acceptable with new/existing conditions
Times of construction/cost Concern: transition for bicycles from Howell Mill Road to Marietta Street. There need to be a Bike Box for SB Howell Mill bicycles to use left turn lane to access SB Marietta Street. Do not add bike lanes, resurface. If bike lanes are priority, add them through minus of width, not lane reduction. At Northside Drive, no left turns from either direction from 8am to 10am and 4pm to 6pm. From downtown to Northside Drive should not have right turn only.
Discussions, Questions and Comments Baker to Ivan Allen - not supportive of the 4 to 3 with bike lane conversion. Sees congestion on Ivan Allen/Marietta especially during special events. Concerned about bottlenecks especially on Marietta between Baker/Ivan Allen. 1. Question: Asked about observations north of Ivan Allen Response: Did not want to speak for business owners north of the corridor. 2. Response: Curbside lane, has observed trolley loading (not sure if it's regular. Verify with trolley company). Lots of loading activities in the curbside lane- has a church weekly do drop offs. Short term parking is allowed. Pretty steadfast on the four lane cross section. Ensured that plans are not final, the city will consider different options. Safety is the number one priority. The city is meeting with many business owners. Discussed benefits of the center-turn lane. Highlights that the inner lanes often act as turn lanes anyway. Highlights that enforcement is an important element. Nervous about bottlenecks. But supportive of the broader vision. South of Ivan Allen traffic seems heavier traffic. Public meeting in late August. If there is some consensus among business owners, there will be changes before the meeting. But it would mean there would be robust consensus along the corridor. Appreciated that we spoke on the phone. Wanted to make sure that a general public meeting feedback would be balanced and not outweigh the business owners along the corridor.
Number of Comment Cards Received: 17 cards / 4 emails Question 1: Do you support the project? Potential Response For 10 Against 1 Conditional 7 Uncommitted No Response 2 Number of Responses Question 2: How did you hear about this meeting? Potential Response Number of Responses (it should be noted that all did not respond to this question) Radio/Television N/A Newspaper N/A Signs N/A Word of Mouth 2 Other 2 Email 6 Meeting 2 Street Team 1 No Response 1 Question 3: Do you understand the project after attending this meeting? Potential Response Yes 14 No No Response 2 Number of Responses Suggestions for improving Renew Atlanta public meetings: 1. Consider just cups and water container like offered by 5 Seasons. Do not offer bottled water at events 2. Perhaps offering a couple of different times of day for people to attend. It worked well for me. 3. Appreciate the opportunity to ask questions 4. Please email timelines of proposed projects
5. Good team was on hand to answer questions, clarification and concerns X Summary: Overall the Stakeholders in attendance are in support of the Marietta Resurfacing Project but would like their questions/concerns addressed before proceeding.